


in full bloom

by onerous (orphan_account)



Category: MYTEEN (Band), Produce 101 (TV), UP10TION, VICTON (Band)
Genre: Developing Friendships, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parenthood, Rating May Change, Single Parent Lee Sejin, Slow Burn, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2020-10-10 07:28:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20524223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/onerous
Summary: forget about long days and terrible mornings, lee sejin had his son to worry about.ORin which sejin is a single dad and jinhyuk is the new worker at minkyu's daycare





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i've had this idea stuck in my head for two days now so i just had to write it. hopefully you like whatever this mess is!!
> 
> (note: i know the formatting is weird and all over the place but please keep in mind that i'm going to be experimenting and changing it as the story progresses to see what i like and am most comfortable with)
> 
> ((another tidbit: this story won't be beta'd. i shall die like the tiny man i am)

sejin has always thought of life as a deck of cards that fate had to deal out in a really odd and complicated game of poker that the universe decided to play. for some people this game of poker is easy because they get dealt a royal flush, the best hand anyone could get. these people just easy through everything without so much of a hiccup. others end up with a regular straight flush, things still go great for them but there are of course some minor bumps in the road for them. now sejin isn't so sure as to what cards fate had dealt to him. it just seemed that the universe was just making him draw more cards but none of them were good. 

at first sejin seemed to be winning in this weird game of life, he had originally been dealt a great hand; he had supportive parents who raised him right, he had no troubles in school which meant everything to him, and he had been blessed with amazing friends. things were going great for him until barely even a month after his twentieth birthday. his whole life had been turned upside down by a single phone call then it just seemed the universe had decided to have more things thrown at him left and right. his personal deck of cards had went from being straight flush to a high card hand but even though he was losing, sejin had a reason to keep trying.

**◈ ━━━━━━ ⸙ ━━━━━━ ◈**

"minkyu," a loud yawn followed after the child's name, "baby, we don't have time for this. please just listen to dada and come get dressed." the child in question lets out a loud, shrill _'no'_ and just shook his head as he continued to hide under the unstable, worn out table that was set up in their kitchen. sejin heaved a deep sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to collect himself. the man usually never had problems with minkyu in the mornings but just like everyone else, kids also had their off days. squatting down on the floor, the man decided to peek under the table cloth that covered the table and came face to face with the grumpy four year old. minkyu huffed as soon as he saw him and sejin had to keep himself from laughing at the pouting boy. 

"baby, you can't stay under here all day, you've got to go to daycare."

the boy just whined and kicked his legs about like he was about to throw a tantrum. 

"don't you wanna go see miss nayoung today?"

minkyu seemed to perk up at the mention of one of his favorite teachers at the daycare he attended. sejin couldn't help but feel relieved whenever he notices his son start to calm down. "didn't she let you play with her hair last week," he questions and the tired boy is quick to answer with a nod. "don't you want to see her again today," he hums, once again he's answered with a nod. "you can only see her again if you go to daycare and that can't happen if you don't come out from under the table."

that seems to be all that minkyu needs to hear because the toddler comes shooting out from under the table like fire was licking at the heels of his feet. sejin snatches him up with a firm grasp under each armpit before the boy can even make it out the kitchen. "let's go, let's go, let's go," minkyu exclaims loudly as he squirms in his father's hold. this time around sejin doesn't hide his amusement and lets out a soft chuckle at minkyu's excitement. "you can't just go in your spiderman undies, you've gotta get dressed first," the blond reminds the squirming boy. hearing this only seems to make the child even more restless because he starts whining and was practically attempting to throw himself out of sejin's hold. 

the weary blond rolls his eyes before setting the boy back down on his own two feet. "go on, i'll be in your room in a minute," he states as he reaches down and ruffles his kid's messy bedhead. minkyu apparently didn't need to be told twice seeing as how he immediately took off to his bedroom. sejin exhaled heavily through his nose once minkyu was out of his sight and let his shoulders fall; he practically deflated like an old balloon with a leak. he could already tell that this was going to be a long day and he had only been awake for an hour now.

"dada, hurry up! i wanna see miss nayoung!"

sejin straightened up once again at the sound of minkyu calling for him. "dada's coming baby," he called back before setting off to minkyu's room. forget about long days and terrible mornings, lee sejin had his son to worry about. 

**◈ ━━━━━━ ⸙ ━━━━━━ ◈**

much to sejin's surprise they managed to leave the house only three minutes behind schedule which was only because minkyu go too excited rambling about his favorite daycare teacher and ended up accidentally knocked sejin's coffee out of his hand and all over his shirt. after changing and consoling an upset minkyu, the father and son duo were determined to get to their bus stop before they were too late. it seemed that their timing was a bit off though because as soon as they turned the corner to get to the usually bus stop that they waited at the bus was just starting to take off. "i'm sorry about this bug," sejin stated and before minkyu could even question his dad, sejin picked up the boy and held him to his chest as he tried to flag the bus down. it took quite a bit of shouting and a lot more leg work than the man would've liked but he did manage to get the driver to stop the bus. 

"sorry," he sheepishly apologized as they were greeted by the driver's glare once on the bus. to avoid angering anyone else sejin quickly paid for the bus fare and ushered minkyu down the aisle to find a seat. he ignored the looks of disdain and annoyance that the tired, grumpy passengers were giving him. he even pretended to not hear the murmured _'dumbass'_ someone whispers as they walked by. instead he opted for helping minyku into a seat and settling down beside him. 

minkyu leans against sejin as soon as the man sits down and nuzzles into his side; sejin coos softly as he pulls him closer. "tired," he asks, his voice gentle as he reaches up to run his fingers through the boy's thick hair. the toddler just nods and balls his dad's shirt up in one of his tiny hands as he grasps onto him. "go to sleep bug, we've got a bit before we get to the daycare," sejin insists as he continues to run his fingers through the tired boy's hair. it doesn't take long for minkyu to drift off to sleep; he slumps against sejin's side with the thin material of his shirt still fisted in his chubby fingers. 

a small smile turns up the corners of the man's mouth as he watches him sleep. maybe that's all minkyu needed was a few extra minutes of sleep this morning. hopefully the short nap that he is able to get on the bus will have him refreshed and calmed so he won't be so restless and frazzled during the day. sejin could only imagine how terrible the day at the daycare would go if minkyu were to act how he did earlier that morning. shoving aside such negative and hectic thought sejin leans down and presses a gentle kiss to the crown of minkyu's head. at least his sweet boy is able to get some rest after such a tiring morning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not updating quickly, I had intended to get this chapter out like a week after the first one. I actually ended up dealing with an injury and other personal situations so I haven't had a lot of time to sit down and write like I wanted to.
> 
> (hopefully this chapter isn't straight shit. the next chapters will be longer, i promise!!)

to sejin's relief, minkyu is nothing but calm and refreshed whenever they get off the bus. the tiny tot was babbling away to his father, clutching on to his hand, as they walked down the street to get to the daycare. "do 'ou think miss nayoung will let me play with her hair," minkyu asks, peering up at sejin with wide, curious eyes. the man can't help but chuckle at the boy's question before he shrugs, "i don't know bug, maybe if you ask her nicely she will." this seems to please him enough because a grin turns up the corners of the child's mouth. 

after a quick strut down the street sejin helps minkyu up the steps that lead to the entrance of the daycare. the building is a bit old, run down, and could definitely use some remodeling but the workers were sweet and caring plus it was the only daycare he could afford for minkyu to attend so the young man didn't really have any complaints. stepping inside, he follows minkyu to his little classroom since the daycare split the kids up by age. "go put your bag in your cubby, bug," he instructs as he hands the backpack to minkyu; the old thing was decorated in fake flowers and bees that the toddler insisted his dad sowed on to the green bag. minkyu obliges happily, marching to the cubbies while dragging his bag across the floor. 

sejin watches him with a fond smile before he goes to sign him in on the attendance sheet that was hung on a clipboard by the entrance. the sound of minkyu calling for him drowns out the noise of the ballpoint pen scrawling across paper. sejin hums, turning on his heel to see what was wrong. he's greeted by a confused toddler, a small pout settling on his face. "what's wrong bug," he asks, bending down to be eye level with him.

"I can't find miss nayoung."

oh no. there goes his hopes for minkyu's day at daycare being good. he can already see the quiver in the child's bottom lip and his eyes glossing over with tears. sejin furrows his brows as he runs his fingers through his son's hair as a means to calm him. taking a quick glance around the room he finds that minkyu is right, nayoung isn't anywhere to be found.

"maybe she's late or something hun, lets go ask one of the other teachers," he suggests as minkyu nods in agreement. the man leads the four year old to one of the teachers that just started greeting parents as they walked their kids in. "excuse me," he makes sure to keep minkyu out of everyone's way as the teacher turns to look at him, "is nayoung coming in today?" the teacher, a young brunet who couldn't have been much older than sejin himself, shook her head. "nayoung actually doesn't work here anymore, she started working at a private daycare this week," she states, giving him an apologetic smile. 

he mutters a quick _'thank you_' to the woman as he feels minkyu start to fidget beside him. sejin places his hand gently on the toddler's shoulder and steers him away from the entrance, leading him over to the cubbies as a way to give them some temporary privacy. tears already welling up in minkyu's eyes as he pouted. "mi-miss nayoung doesn't work here anymore," he sputters out the question, bottom lip trembling from his effort to not cry. sejin kneels down in front of him and cups his face, thumbs wiping away the tears that had starting falling already, unsure of how to soothe his upset child.

usually he knew just what to say, what words to utter to calm him down, what to whisper to stop his tears but now it seemed he was drawing a blank. the tantrum from this morning had left the already tired sejin worn out so he was unsure of how to stop his son from crying now. anything he wanted to say died on the tip of his tongue at the sight of minkyu hiccuping out little sobs that shook his shoulders. "oh bug," he sighed as he pulled minkyu against his chest, "i'm sorry." he could only hug him close as he cried into his shoulder, small body shaking from how harsh his cries were.

the blond did anything he could to help him calm down. he rubbed small, soothing circle on his back but that only seemed to make him cry harder, he ran his fingers through his hair, he even tried to hum to the upset kid. everything only seemed to upset him even more. nothing seemed like it was going to work. sejin honestly felt like crying with him because what type of father couldn't help calm his own child? 

"oh no, what happened?"

sejin jumped at the sound of someone suddenly talking to him. he looked up only to be greeted by nothing but legs; he tilted his head back until finally this giant of a person seemed to run out of legs and he was greeted by a warm smile. the height of this dude makes sejin feel tiny, miniscule even, as he stays kneeled with minkyu still in his arms. at first he's sure that this stranger is either a noisy parent that likes to be involved in everyone else's business or just an overly concerned parent wanting to help until he spots the lanyard that was hung around his neck. 'lee jinhyuk, teacher of class B' is what it read causing sejin to realize that this must be nayoung's replacement. 

before the tired dad could even think of what to say or how to greet him, the man squats down and taps minkyu lightly on his shoulder. the toddler sniffles as he peeks over at the newcomer; sejin's frown deepens whenever he sees how puffy and red-rimmed his eyes are. "hi," the teacher greets warmly, hand coming up to give a small wave, "a little birdie told me that you were sad." minkyu sniffs, nodding, as he rubs as his now runny nose with the back of his little hand. "well, a little birdie also told me that maybe, just maybe, you can do some coloring before everyone gets here," this jinhyuk states causing minkyu to perk up. "but you've gotta get cleaned up first, how does that sound?"

the four year old pries himself away from his father and frantically started to rub at his face with his chubby little hands in an attempt to wipe the tears and snot away but it didn't really do anything but make it worse. jinhyuk chuckles before he holds a hand out to minkyu, "let's go get you some wet wipes and i'll help ya clean up." sejin stands up but not before pressing a quick kiss to the crown of minkyu's head. as minkyu takes the teacher's hand, jinhyuk gives sejin a smile and sejin finds himself smiling back at the tall brunet.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, blatantly ignoring how long it's been since I've updated: here, have this!!
> 
> but no seriously, I was very uncertain on updating this fic with all that's been going on but I just couldn't leave it sitting here. It's my baby and I truly love these boys so...

weeks go by and sejin doesn't give the new daycare worker another thought. he goes about focusing on his own business which is just going to work and taking care of minkyu. in all honesty, the man would have forgotten all about jinhyuk had it not been for his son. minkyu had gotten over miss nayoung's leave quickly all because of jinhyuk. now whenever sejin picked up minkyu from daycare or whenever his roommate byungchan brought the boy home, the tiny kid would immediately start babbling about him. it was all sejin ever heard anymore, 'jinhyuk' this and 'jinhyuk' that. 

he couldn't help but be happy that the child wasn't upset about miss nayoung anymore. he also couldn't help but wonder why minkyu was so over the moon about the new teacher. it seemed like every time he turned around jinhyuk was being mentioned. if they were eating dinner minkyu would proudly announce, "jinhyuk hyung told me he likes this the bestest!". if they were coloring minkyu would ask for any of the markers in the shade of blue because "it's jinhyuk hyung's favorite 'olor" sometimes he even found the boy singing disney songs to himself but mostly let it go which was cute at first until it became all the boy ever sang.

"maybe he has a crush," byungchan jokes one night, sejin looks up from the sketch he was making to stare at his best friend. byungchan just gives him a wide grin from beside him before he continues to mess around on his phone, most likely messaging a certain "friend". "besides isn't it normal for kids to have little crushes on teachers or parent's friends," he states as his fingers rapidly fly across his phone's little keyboard. without missing a beat the older said the first thing that came to mind, "thank good he has actual taste and doesn't like you." sejin couldn't move fast enough to get away from flailing lanky limbs and shrill shrieking as the other all but tackled him off the couch. 

but yes, this new teacher doesn't cross his mind all that much. at least not until sejin finds himself faced with a dilemma. 

"where are you," sejin whispers harshly into his phone, leaning against the lone table that sits in the break room of the store he works at. "hyung, 'm so sorry but i can't come in," yuvin whines pitifully on the other end of the line. the younger's voice is congested and tired which tells sejin that yuvin is indeed sick and can't come into work. sejin just breathes a sigh out through his nose. he seriously can't deal with this right now. 

"it's okay," sejin reassures him as the younger tries to spew out apology after apology, "i'll cover for you until midam gets here."

the older hardly even lets the younger thank him before he hangs up.

it isn't okay.

he needs to be leaving _now_ and heading to minkyu daycare to pick his son up. he obviously can't do that though if he's suppose to cover for yuvin until midam shows up. calling byungchan to pick him up is out of the question because his roommate was out of town for the day. sejin had no one else to turn to and ask for help. the father just huffs as he pulls up the daycare's number and presses the call option. 

the call is picked up on the third ring with a chirpy, "hello"

"uh, this is lee sejin, minkyu's dad, and i was wondering if i could speak to his teacher lee jinhyuk for a moment please"

"hold on one moment!"

sejin isn't sure what the hell he's doing right now. he can't bring himself to question it though as he waits for his call to be transferred. once again the call is picked up on the third ring. "hello," a soft voice answers. the blond finds himself taken aback for moment because he clearly didn't remember the new teacher's voice sounding like that.

"hi, hello," the man sputters out before nervously taking his bottom lip between his teeth for a moment, "this is minkyu's dad, sejin, and i know that's pick up time right now and that it last only for an hour but i won't be able to pick him up quite yet." there's a small hum over the phone. sejin can't help but be scared that he had been hung up on. "that's fine," jinhyuk replies cheerfully, "how long do you think it'll take before you can get him?" he's silent for a moment before answering in a meek voice

"probably not until five or five thirty"

it falls silent on the other end of the call once more. sejin finds that he couldn't be mad if the teacher had hung up on him. he knows it's absurd and terrible for him to be telling his son's new teacher that he was going to be almost two hours late to pick up his own child. jinhyuk must think he's a horrible father. he must think that sejin is out of his mind. he must think that-

"that's okay! someone will be here waiting with him"

sejin almost burst into tears right then and there. this new teacher of minkyu's is honestly such a godsend. tears sting and prick at his eyes. oh god, he really might cry. "thank you," is all he can manage to choke out. he hangs up before the teacher says anything else that might actually cause him to have a melt down.

"daddy!"

sejin grins as he steps out of his car, an old beaten up honda that had just come back from the shop, and opens his arms when minkyu comes bounding down the stairs of the daycare's porch. the child has no problem launching himself into his father's arms. sejin has no problems with happily catching his son. "hey bug," he greets the dark haired boy with a gentle smile that minkyu happily returns. the sound of heavy footsteps against old wood brings sejin's attention away from the happy ball of energy in his arms.

jinhyuk was making his way over to them with a small smile turning up the corners of his mouth. the man was still as tall as sejin remembered him to be. he was tall but sejin couldn't find it in himself to be intimidated by his height. not whenever the man had such kind eyes, soft cheeks, and a warm smile. "hi," the man greets like he hadn't just spent the past two hours sitting with a four year old.

sejin, like the idiot that he is, doesn't greet him. instead he starts to apologize.

"thank you so much for waiting with him," he utters

jinhyuk opens his mouth to say something but sejin keeps going.

"i'm so sorry you had to wait for so long"

once more, his mouth opens but quickly closes whenever sejin continues.

"i know you must have had so much you wanted to do with your evening and instead you had to waste it waiting with minkyu."

sejin starts to ramble; he does nothing but apologize and thank the man all at the same time. the teacher and minkyu share a confused, wide eyed look in an attempt to see if the other knew what was going on.

_"is he okay," jinhyuk's look seems to ask the child._

_"daddy's silly," minkyu's eyes say._

it isn't until sejin starts panting from all of his ranting that jinhyuk cuts him off. "hey," the brunet says, his voice shutting sejin up, "it's okay. i didn't mind waiting with minnie." the blond shifts minkyu in his arms as he gives the man a sheepish smile. "seriously though, i'm truly grateful," he states. the teacher seems worried that he's going to start ranting again so he just gives him a smile.

"if it makes you feel any better all i was going to do this evening was eat tater tots and play overwatch until i collapsed."

sejin stares at the taller. jinhyuk stares back. minkyu looks between the two in utter confusion. adults are weird and the child just doesn't understand them.

"that isn't very healthy," the father utters after a moment of silence. jinhyuk shrugs in a manner that tells sejin that he doesn't care. it also tells sejin that the young teacher probably doesn't eat anything else but junk. the blond stares at the with narrowed eyes before grinning to himself whenever he thinks of something. it was an amazing idea. well, a stupid idea but it was amazing none the less.

"how about i make this up to you," he offers before he can stop himself. the taller quirks a dark brow out of curiosity. sejin doesn't allow the other to question him. his stupidity having already taken over his brain. there's no turning back from this now.

"how about you have dinner with us next week?"

lee sejin can hardly believe those words just came out of his mouth. it seems to have caught jinhyuk off guard as well. he can see it in the way that the man's eyes widen and his brows pinch together. scared that his offer is stupid and was going to be rejected, he starts blabbering once again.

"i mean of course you don't have to if you don't want to. it's just a silly little-"

"i'd love to!"

sejin's mouth drops into a perfect little o-shape as he stares at jinhyuk with wide eyes. jinhyuk just grins at him happily. he looks almost excited about the thought of dinner with them. "wait, really," he can't help but ask. he can't believe that his offer wasn't being shot down. 

"yeah, of course. I'd love to have dinner with you guys."

"yay," minkyu yells as he squirms happily in sejin's arms.

at least one of them is excited about it.


	4. ...

i feel terrible for this but i have no means to finish this story. i had so many idea, so much planned, and a lot of love put into this yet i have no motivation to write. every time i try to write the next chapter, nothing feels right. nothing feels good enough. as much as i love what i had planned and as much as i love sejin, minkyu, and jinhyuk, i just don't see myself writing for this anymore. there's just no way i can finish this fic. if anyone would like to, feel free to continue this with your own interpretations and ideas. i don't care about being credited or anything like that. do whatever you want with this story. there's nothing more i can do for it. i'm sorry.


End file.
